Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Dull hair lacks shine and looks limp. We all try to avoid ending up with dull hair but sometimes the things we do in an attempt to prevent it, actually cause it. In healthy hair the outer layer of the hair strand, made up of cuticles, lies flat and so reflects the light making hair shine. However, if the cuticles are damaged the hair becomes rough and damaged and no longer reflects the light making it dull. Dull hair can also occur when there is a lack of oil content on the scalp.

Causes of dull hair:

Illness, such as flu, releases toxins from the body through sebaceous glands in the scalp coating the hair.

Excessive brushing

The conditioning agent in "2 in 1" products.

Environmental assaults

Harsh chemicals:

· Chlorine in tap water and pools.

· Colour developer Perm chemicals (neutralizer)

· Peroxide bleach

· Relaxer chemicals

· Styling product build-up and leave-in products.

Cure for dull hair:

Eating a balanced diet; protein, iron and Vitamin C are essential for shine

Keeping hair clean is vital

Use products containing Vitamins C and E with a superior conditioning agent. This helps to:

Chemical oxidisers chip away at the cuticle scales on the outside of each hair shaft. Once the protective cuticles have broken away the inner, more fragile layers of the hair shaft are exposed and the hair becomes damaged and cannot return to its original state. The chemicals used in perming, relaxing and colouring solutions have to be able to reach the inner cortex of the hair shaft so that they can react with the keratin inside. To get inside the hair they have to get through the protective layer of cuticles, and to do this hair is heated or an alkaline solution applied which separates the cuticles slightly. After the process the cuticles return to their original position but if these processes are done to often the cuticles can't return to their normal position so hair becomes rough and damaged and takes on a dull appearance.